Chisnall claims Euro Tour One title in Kiel

Dave Chisnall won his fourth PDC European Tour title on Sunday night, opening the 2023 season with an 8-5 victory over Luke Humphries at the Interwetten Baltic Sea Darts Open in Kiel.

The first £175,000 European Tour event of the year saw a record number of maximums landed across three days at the Wunderino Arena, before Chisnall walked away with the £30,000 top prize.

Humphries won four European Tour titles in 2022 and was looking to add to his number one seeding with another victory, but Chisnall proved too strong in an entertaining final.

The Morecambe ace won the first three legs without reply, capitalising on Humphries’ four early missed doubles to take command.

Humphries levelled the game by landing legs of 13 and 12 darts, and he also shared the next two before Chisnall pulled clear.

Legs of 12 and 13 darts gave Chisnall breathing room, and double five gave him a third consecutive leg – and while Humphries took the next to keep his hopes alive, double five for a 13-darter sealed the deal.

His final-round average of 101.31 was surpassed by his sensational 107.04 average in defeating Gerwyn Price in the third round on Sunday afternoon.

He then defeated German favourite Martin Schindler in the quarter-finals before defeating Jonny Clayton in an epic semi-final 7-5.

Chisnall took five legs in a row without missing a double, including an 11-darter, a two-tops 100 checkout, and an 88 on the bull, to reach his tenth European Tour final and win his fourth title.

“I’ve had a great tournament,” said Chisnall, who hit eight 180s in the final. “Luke is phenomenal, so I’m glad to get a win over him.

 “You always need a bit of luck, and I think both Jonny Clayton and Martin Schindler could have both beaten me but I dug deep.

 “I’m playing good darts at the moment and hopefully it continues. I love playing in front of [German fans], they’ve been a great crowd and gave me so much respect.”

Humphries, the world number five, finishes second in Kiel with £12,000, his first defeat in a European Tour final.

The top seed was in fine form as he defeated Dimitri Van den Bergh and Dirk van Duijvenbode to advance to the semi-finals, where he survived two missed match darts from Ryan Searle in the final stages.

Despite losing to Chisnall, Humphries was pleased with his performance in Kiel, his first big-stage appearance since being eliminated from the Cazoo Premier League four weeks ago.

“I can look back on this final and know I had my chances,” he said. “I felt good, there was no fatigue but they weren’t dropping in when I wanted them to and sometimes that happens.

 “Five European Tour finals in my last 11 tournaments is some going, and proves that I’ve got the game. I’ve shown a little bit this weekend [to say] ‘Don’t write me off, I’m still a decent player’.

 “Chizzy was fantastic and played well, and was a deserving winner but I feel like [I had] a little bit of a point to prove maybe and I can still play good darts.”

 Clayton advanced to the last four by defeating Stephen Bunting and Steve Beaton on Sunday, while Searle reached the same stage by defeating Martijn Dragt and Keegan Brown for the loss of only three legs before losing to Humphries.

2023 Interwetten Baltic Sea Darts Open

Sunday February 26

Afternoon Session 

Third Round

Luke Humphries 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh

Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Michael Smith

Ryan Searle 6-2 Martijn Dragt

Keegan Brown 6-4 Peter Wright

Jonny Clayton 6-2 Stephen Bunting

Steve Beaton 6-4 Joe Cullen

Martin Schindler 6-2 Damon Heta

Dave Chisnall 6-4 Gerwyn Price

Evening Session 

Quarter-Finals

Luke Humphries 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Ryan Searle 6-1 Keegan Brown

Jonny Clayton 6-2 Steve Beaton

Dave Chisnall 6-4 Martin Schindler

Semi-Finals

Luke Humphries 7-6 Ryan Searle

Dave Chisnall 7-5 Jonny Clayton

Final

Dave Chisnall 8-5 Luke Humphries